Joel Santo DomingoTiVo Premiere EliteThe high-end Premiere Elite DVR has a lot to offer for TiVo fans, but the competition has surpassed TiVo on several key features, particularly support for devices like smartphones and tablets.

The high-end Premiere Elite DVR has a lot to offer for TiVo fans, but the competition has surpassed TiVo on several key features, particularly support for devices like smartphones and tablets.

The TiVo Premiere Elite ($499.99 list) is the souped-up version of the TiVo Premiere DVR ($299.99, 3.5 stars), with a 300-hour HD video capacity and two more TV tuners for the ability to record four simultaneous programs. Like the TiVo Premiere XL, the Premiere Elite is THX certified and comes with an upgraded remote (but not the slide-out QWERTY model). It’s a definite upgrade for current TiVo users, but is it compelling enough to bring more TiVo users into the fold? The outlook isn't so good, compared to DVRs from cable companies, which continue to improve over time.

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Design and FeaturesThe TiVo Premiere Elite looks almost identical to the previous TiVo Premiere, built into the same style chassis as the previous model. There are a few differences from the previous version, though. There are four lights, which glow red to show that each of the four tuners are recording a program. You can record up to four programs simultaneously, which are decoded by the mutli-stream CableCARD the TiVo Premiere Elite now requires. Previous models allowed you to record over the air HDTV broadcasts in addition to digital cable, but the Premiere Elite is a strictly digital cable-only model; TiVo has removed the RF tuner and its connector to make room for the added digital tuners. Over-the-air HDTV viewers will want the regular Premiere or Premiere XL.

If you’ve set up a TiVo HD or previous TiVo Premiere before, you know the drill: Call your cable company to get a multi-stream CableCARD, either wait for the tech to show up or install the CableCARD yourself, and hope it pairs up successfully. Once activated in your TiVo Premiere Elite and once the DVR is hooked up to your home Internet connection, the DVR will download the program guide and take you through the rest of the setup. The TiVo Premiere Elite has an Ethernet port, but you’ll need to buy a TiVo WiFi adapter ($60-$90) if you don’t have a wired connection in your TV room. All the same features are here: TiVo Search; links to Netflix, Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Pandora, You Tube, and Amazon Instant Video; and the trademark beeps and boops from the TiVo interface. Think of the current group of TiVo DVRs as a mash-up of a cable DVR and the sort of streaming media set top box like the Apple TV ($99, 4 stars) or the Roku LT ($49, 4 stars).

The TiVo Premiere Elite comes with a 2TB hard drive, which is good for up to 300 hours of HD video, which is an increase from 45 hours for the TiVo Premiere, and 150 hours for the TiVo Premiere XL. Like the TiVo Premiere XL, the Premiere Elite comes with the TiVo Glo remote, not the keyboard-equipped TiVo Slide ($60). The TiVo Slide is a better fit for the DVR junkie who needs to search for programming with the on-screen interface. Truly hardcore TiVo users can download the free TiVo app for their handheld device like an iPad, iPhone, or Android phone: The app replicates the search and remote functions on your handheld, including managing the recorded programs list on your TiVo Premiere Elite. The touch-screen keyboard on your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S II will be handier than using the on-screen keyboard and TiVo Glo remote on your HDTV. However, you can’t view live TV or the recordings from your TiVo on your iPad/iPhone/Android device. You’ll still need to use a separate place-shifting device for remote viewing over WiFi or 3G.

Competitors From the Cable Company and ElsewhereThe cable companies have caught up to and some cases surpassed TiVo. TiVo’s interface now mostly takes advantage of the extra real estate and resolution of a HDTV screen, though there are still elements in standard definition. The user interface screens on digital cable DVRs like those from Verizon FIOS are fully HD optimized.

More pressing are features like FIOS’ DVR apps and Cablevision/Time Warner’s viewing apps on devices like the iPad and Android smartphones. On the FIOS side, the DVR Manager app gives you listings of what’s scheduled and already recorded on your home DVRs, regardless if you’re home or on a 3G network. Need more room to record the next American Idol on your home DVR, but you’re in Des Moines? No problem with FIOS or the other cable companies, just delete those old episodes of Pan Am. In the TiVo app, you have to be physically in range of your home Wi-Fi network to see the recorded list and manage recordings, which means you can only schedule future recordings remotely, not delete existing programs. On the Time Warner and Cablevision side, things are even better when you consider that the TWC app and Optimum app allow you to view live TV as well as on-demand videos on your iPad on your home network. TiVo users need a place-shifting device like a Slingbox to do the same thing, even in your own home. Multi-room viewing was once unique to TiVo, but Cable DVRs now support multi-room viewing, letting you view programs recorded in the living room while you’re in the bedroom.

Last I checked, most cable companies even let you exchange a broken DVR for free even if the DVR itself is 5 years old. Unfortunately, the TiVo DVR warranty only lasts one year for parts, 90 days for labor, with an option for 2-years parts/labor for $30 and 3 years for $40. Last, but not least, you’ll still need to subscribe to TiVo, which added to the monthly rental for the CableCARD, equals or surpasses the monthly rental fee for a cable company DVR. TiVo curently charges $19.95 a month, so if you add the $2-5 monthly rate for the CabelCARD, you may pay less in fees on a cable company DVR. Sure, you can purchase a lifetime subscription for $499.99, but that's per TiVo DVR, and is subject to the continued good health of TiVo Inc. If you want Netflix or You Tube on your HDTV as well and your HDTV doesn't already support it, check if there’s a free HDMI port on your TV, then get an Apple TV or Roku; it’s less than $100, and you won’t need to pay a monthly fee to Apple.

The TiVo Premiere Elite is an improved device for an ultimately shrinking market: the hardcore TiVo user. It will give the TiVo fan a lot to crow about while recording 300 hours of HD on four channels simultaneously, but the DVR is unlikely to add brand new customers to the TiVo fold. It's so tied to digital cable that it is unlikely to sway the non-TiVo user from renting a much more convenient and similar HD DVR for much less money. Why buy a TiVo DVR when the cable company DVR is the same amount of money or less, and lets you better manage it with your smartphone or tablet? Five years ago, TiVo had a perceptibly insurmountable lead on the competition. Now that gap is bridgeable by a toddler in brand new shoes.

TiVo Premiere Elite

Bottom Line: The high-end Premiere Elite DVR has a lot to offer for TiVo fans, but the competition has surpassed TiVo on several key features, particularly support for devices like smartphones and tablets.

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About the Author

Joel Santo Domingo joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Joel is proof that you can escape the retail grind: he wore a yellow polo shirt early in his tech career. Along the way Joel e... See Full Bio

TiVo Premiere Elite

TiVo Premiere Elite

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